Abstract
Adult male rats were injected sc with cadmium chloride (CdCl2) in a single dose of 7 mg/kg body wt. Twenty-four hours postinjection, exposure to CdCl2 increased the hemoglobin absorbance of the testes from 0.36 ± 0.01 to 2.46 ± 0.02. Pretreatment of rats with chlorpromazine (CPZ) 3 mg/kg ip either for 1 or 2 days before exposure to CdCl2 significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the testicular damage and the hemoglobin absorbance decreased to 1.03 ± 0.02 and 0.92 ± 0.04, respectively. After CdCl2 injection there was a progressive increase in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities. CdCl2 injection induced hemorrhage and a diffuse area of coagulative necrosis in liver. Pretreatment with CPZ partially protected liver from the effect of CdCl2. Two months postinjection, exposure to CdCl2 significantly decreased the weights of testes, epididymis, and accessory sex organs. Furthermore, CdCl2 induced a highly significant (p < 0.01) decrease in sperm cell concentration and the percentage of mobile cells. Moreover CdCl2 induced degenerative changes in testes, epididymis, and seminal vesicles. Pretreatment with CPZ partially protected these organs from the toxic effects of CdCl2. It could be concluded that chlorpromazine partially antagonized the toxic effects of cadmium on liver, testes, and other male reproductive organs of rats.